Okay now that Christmas is over I am ready for summer. The Winter Blues have been knocking at my door and I've spent half of this week inviting them in for a glass of lemonade and the other half kicking their butts to the curb. I've now set out a NO TRESPASSING sign, obtained a restraining order and have told them in no uncertain terms that they are not allowed to camp out on my couch for the next few months. Winter Blues...go away! I refuse to succumb to you and your friends Depression ...

You yell at your husband for his choice of Christmas music and rant about John Lennon being a communist. Taking a hot bubble bath to calm down only riles you up even more because the stupid razor can't seem to shave your leg without cutting a major artery. You clean the house in an hour flat and throw away any Christmas cards that dare fall on the floor yelling at them, "hey, you don't want to stick on the wall, fine go lay in the trash can where you belong." You glare at the Chris...

The husband and I went Christmas shopping today and I think nearly every single one of the 9 million residents of Sweden were out there with us. At one point when we were trying to find parking the husband threw his hands up in exasperation and said, "Why couldn't these people have gotten all of their shopping done before the last minute?" Then he laughed realizing he was one of "these people". And of course with the large numbers of people together in one space, one is bound to run into ...

It's that time of year again..the time where I once again waste rare and precious food items (chocolate chips, pecans and marshmallow cream) to make pure and total POO! Dodyas, what the fudge are you talking about? On almost this exact same day 2 years ago I wrote the following... ************* You can’t have Christmas without fudge. Not just any fudge -- My aunt’s fudge. So I trudged into the city the other day and bought a bag of chocolate chips and a jar of marshmallow cr...

A Chipmunk Christmas is the 10th feature in my 31 Days of Christmas. The cartoon opens with a doctor visiting Tommy, a very sick young boy. He isn't expected to make it through Christmas. Later at a department store Alvin overhears Tommy's sister telling her mother that Tommy would so love a Golden Echo Harmonica for Christmas, but the mother says they can't afford it. Alvin's prized possession happens to be a Golden Echo Harmonica so he shows up at Tommy's house later to give it to h...

The 31 Days of Christmas continues with A Family Circus Christmas I always enjoyed reading The Family Circus strip in the Sunday paper, so when I found the cartoon I decided it was a must see. The cartoon is just like the strip, simple and sweet. Billy, Dolly, Jeffy and PJ start to decorate the Christmas tree but can't find the star to put on top. Bil and The (the parents) are afraid it was accidentally thrown out last year. It was a special star, made by Bil's dad when Bil himself...

Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, the next feature in my 31 Days of Christmas, is made up of five short stories. The first one, Belles on Ice, was an ice skating duel between Minnie and Daisy reminiscent of Nancy and Tonya but hippos and gators instead of tire irons and hit men. The second segment, Christmas:Impossible, starred the three most annoying ducks in the history of cartoonland, Huey, Dewey and Louie. Am I the only one that has a passionate loathing for these creature...

Next in the 31 Days of Christmas lineup is another Rankin/Bass production....Frosty the Snowman (1969) I had to watch a few more Christmas shows before I reviewed this one just to make sure I wasn't becoming jaded because while watching Frosty I kept thinking of at least a dozen other things I could be doing. In fact cleaning the toilet with my hair was starting to sound like fun! For those who don't know the storyline to this classic (firstly what cave you been living in?) it's ...

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love sent to me...oh wait, wrong song! On the 6th day of December Scrooge was my movie... ha! Yup, another classic. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is probably the most remade Christmas story today. I bet any one of you could name at least 10 versions of it you have seen. Whether its an old classic black and white, the Muppets version or a family sitcom version. I will be reviewing A Muppet Christmas Carol later on in the month, but toda...

Standing my Ground on 25Peeps. click me! click me! Link Click and help me out. I am fully dressed, but beware you might see flesh of others. Just close your eyes and click on ME! And be sure and scroll down later to read my regular entries too!

By request...photos of ParaTed2k and the story of how I got to meet one of JU's greatest citizens. Ted and I met online at another site for bloggers at the beginning of this year and became good friends rather quickly. So when I found out I was going to have a few days layover in Chicago (a few hours from where he lives) during my trip home to the States, he graciously offered to pick me up and house me for a few days. So on Sunday September 17, 2006 tired and weary from a 9 hour flight...

Another Rankin/Bass production from 1970, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is the 5th Christmas show in my 31 Days of Christmas! I must not have seen this one as often as I saw the other Rankin and Bass cartoons because I had forgotten the storyline. If not for the nostalgic pull to it, I would deem this one much to cheesy to bear. Its one saving grace, other than being a R/B production is that at least it wasn't a movie about "saving Christmas". After 5 days of Christmas cartoons/shows ...

Day four of my 31 days of Christmas brings us another classic! A Charlie Brown Christmas As the very first of the Peanuts gang animated specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) holds a special place in television history. It's also the cartoon that brought us the term Charlie Brown Christmas tree, meaning a very ugly and spindly tree. Charlie Brown is depressed over the over commercialization of Christmas. It seems everyone is caught up in the madness. Lucy complains th...

If you are tired of the same old Christmas cartoons, the 3rd installation in my 31 Days of Christmas brings you something a little different. Santa Vs. the Snowman A lonely snowman's only solace is playing music on a flute made of ice. But a flying object roars past one night causing the Snowman to drop and break his flute. Curious about the flying object the snowman heads off to find it, but what he finds instead is Santa's workshop. Peeking in the window he sees how much everyone love...